Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Essay - 1

Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development - Essay Example Considering the fact that the need to meeting once basic needs for existence can be jeopardized in the absence of economic development, not much can be said on the need to promote economic development of all people at all levels of life. The understanding that economic development brings about better living and improved lifestyle does not however guarantee economic development. This is because the achievement of economic development is a complex and systematic process that demands a lot of knowledge, professional requirements, ethical know-how among other factors to achieve (Koduah, 2009). Kasof et al (2007) describe the elements that need to be put in place to attain economic development as values. In academic circles, theorists and economists have associated entrepreneurship and innovation as two of the most important values needed in achieving economic development. Lumsdaine and Binks (2007) also reiterates the fact that creativity and problem solving has a lot of role to play in ensuring that entrepreneurship and innovation are well combined to bring about the economic development. ... Being rather more technical and theoretical, the Lester Centre for Entrepreneurship (2011) explains that â€Å"entrepreneurship has crossed border from the days it used to be all about â€Å"the pursuit of opportunity beyond the resources you currently control† to now include a rather broadened scope â€Å"with segmented interest across a wide variety of fields and topics, including new venture creation, venture capital, social ventures, business model innovation, open software, internet, corporate entrepreneurship, global business, and biotechnology.† Innovation Innovation in the economic sense can also be given a broader interpretation than the mere act of creating something new. Innovation is actually a compounded ability to be of use not just to one’s self but to society at large (Ampong, 2004). There are therefore several theories on innovation that guides the utilization of the phenomenon. Some of the theories can be mentioned as breakthrough, incremental and open source (Real Innovation, 2011). Fusing all these theories together, Peter Drucker explains that â€Å"innovation is the specific instrument of entrepreneurship... the act that endows resources with a new capacity to create wealth† (Real Innovation, 2011). Economic development According to Economics for Development (2011), â€Å"economic development is the development of economic wealth of countries or regions for the well-being of their inhabitants.† This confirms the point made earlier that economic development is directed towards the achievement of overall wellbeing of people. Theoretically, economic development is judged by certain indicators when the term is used by economic analysts. At the national level, there are indicators such as inflation rate, foreign exchange rate, interest rate and gross